No Leaf Clover
by stabler99
Summary: Why do things always seem to go from bad to worse for Elliot Stabler? Shortly after his wife leaves him, he begins to recieve death threats from a criminal mastermind who won't rest until he's buried. EO, slightly AU.
1. Prologue

_Disclaimer: I do not own "Law and Order: SVU", nor any song lyrics in this story._

_**A/N: **Not really a songfic, but the title is the name of a Metallica song. Read, review, etc._

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"_Then it comes to be that the soothing light at the end of your tunnel is just a freight train coming your way" –"No Leaf Clover" Metallica_

**Unknown location **

**Long Island, New York**

**October 31**

**Elliot POV**

I woke up with a splitting headache in pitch darkness, my ears ringing. "Hello?" I rasped, my voice unable to work properly. "Is anyone there?"

My back was sore and my arms stiff. I tried to move them, and that was when I discovered that they were both tied together to a cord hanging from the ceiling. _What the hell? _I thought.

My eyes slowly became accustomed to the darkness. I found myself in a small, bare room with one heavy wooden door. A small panel of light was coming from underneath. "Where am I" I croaked.

Then, it all came back to me: the letters, the case, the fight with Olivia, the kidnapping…

_Kidnapping? Who was kidnapped? _I gasped. _Wait, I was the one kidnapped!_

Then, I remembered my kidnapper's last words, taunting me_. "You can't even save yourself… you're going to die down here, Detective." _

_Why am I going to die? Isn't Olivia looking for me? _I sighed. _Not after the way I treated her. _

My ankles felt wet. I looked down. They were in about 2 inches of dark, cold water. Above the ringing in my ears, I could finally hear another sound: a low roar. I felt sick with dread as I realized what that roar was. It was the ocean, and the tide was coming in.

"_You're going to die down here!" the man laughed cruelly._

I began to scream, my panicked yells sounding inhuman. "Somebody, help me! There has to be somebody out there!"

There was only the low sound of the ocean. I thrashed around, trying to free my hands. It was futile. I stopped moving and screaming, my throat sore. "Olivia," I croaked. "I'm sorry." _Why was this happening to me? _The water continued to rise.

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Olivia slammed the young woman against a wall. "Tell me where my partner is now!" she shouted. "Damn it, tell me!"

The blonde woman smiled eerily, her clear blue eyes distant. "He is going to die," she said calmly, her voice as ethereal as her appearance. "And he deserves it."

Olivia dropped her and stepped backwards. Her head began to spin, and she felt like she was going to faint. _No, Elliot. _Her eyes filled with tears. She took out her gun. "I didn't want to resort to this," she said shakily. She aimed at the other woman. "But you leave me no alternative."

_If you're still alive, Elliot, know that I love you. _She squeezed her eyes shut as more tears came. She pulled the trigger. _I will find you, no matter what it takes._

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_**A/N: **Sorry if anyone's confused, but the next series of chapters will lead up to this point._


	2. Murder, Someone Wrote

_Disclaimer: I don't own NBC or any of its affiliates/ subsidiaries (which goes for "SVU" as well)._

_**A/N: **Wow, thanks for all of the reviews! I think one of the best parts of writing fanfiction is the reviews, so they're always appreciated._

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"_It's hard to fly when you can't even run_

_Once I had the world, but now I have no one" –"Drown" 3 Days Grace_

**Manhattan Special Victims Unit**

**October 1**

_Elliot found himself inside of a very long, dark tunnel. "Hello?" he called out. He got no answer. The only thing he could see was a light at the very end. He began to walk towards it. _

_Just then, something flew over his head. He looked up and saw a little boy riding on top of a winged horse. "Watcha doin' down there, mister?" he asked._

_Elliot blinked. "Uh…" _

_The boy didn't like this apparently. He turned into a FedEx man and beganthrowing packages at Elliot. They bounced off his head. "Hey, stop that!" he shouted, but the FedEx man wouldn't listen…_

"Elliot Stabler," John Munch called in a sing-song voice. "Wake up, sleepy head."

"Eh?" He opened his eyes. "What's up? Why are you… wait… I'm not at home, am I?"

Olivia grinned. "Nope." She handed him a large brown envelope. "This is for you. A bike messenger just dropped it off 5 minutes ago."

The envelope was addressed to "Mr. Elliot Stabler, NYPD Special Victims Unit, Manhattan, New York". There was no return address.

"I'm surprised it's not open yet," commented Munch. "Usually government-ran bureaucracies such as the post office are all over unlabeled envelopes."

Elliot and Olivia smirked at each other. "Open it," she said.

He tore the top off. Then, he inhaled sharply. The envelope was filled with blood! His hands were covered in it. "What the hell?" he hissed.

The substance poured all over Elliot's desk. He quickly moved all papers. "So much for the government going through his mail," Olivia remarked.

"There's something else in there." Munch put on gloves and fished out a bloody plastic bag. Inside were a small mirror and a note. Elliot put on gloves also and opened it, his hands shaking slightly. "'To my dearly departed Detective Stabler'," he read. "' Or, at least, that's what I'll be writing in the next couple of weeks. Every time you look into this mirror, see a broken man who hasn't much longer to live. Your days are numbered, Detective.'"

The three detectives looked at each other, then at the bloody desk. Just then, Captain Cragen walked by. "What are you three doing?" he asked.

Elliot shoved the note, mirror, and envelope under a stack of papers. "Cleaning," he offered.

Cragen raised his eyebrows, then decided that he really didn't want to know. "Elliot, Olivia, another case. A report of child abuse." He gave them the address. "And, when you have the chance, clean that up."

Elliot and Olivia left a few minutes later. His heart was beating rapidly. "You look pale. Are you alright?" asked Olivia.

He swallowed. "I'll be fine." _No wife, no kids, a nut job that wants me dead; yeah, I'm doing just fine. _He wiped his sweaty palms off on his dress pants. "I'll be fine," he repeated. He touched the cold mirror in his pocket. _Who in the world sent this to me?_

On top of another building, a blond man lay prone, peering through the scope of a sniper rifle. _With one pull of the trigger, _he thought. _He'll be stone dead._

"Bang, bang," he whispered. _Another day perhaps. Very soon._

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_**A/N: **Sorry about such a short update, but I have no time to actually write!_


	3. Shattered Innocence

_**A/N: **Sorry it took so long, but I've been so busy with school, and my birthday and everything lately that I haven't had time to sit down and write. Hopefully the next update won't take so long._

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"_Long lost words whisper slowly to me_

_Still can't find what keeps me here_

_When all this time I've been so hollow inside"_

_-"Haunted", Evanescence_

**Jensen Housing Projects**

**Apt. 23D**

**October 1st**

A middle aged Arab-American woman who was sitting on her door mat stood up when she saw the two detectives. "My name is Nadira Shariq," she said, extending her hand. "I'm very glad to see the two of you."

Olivia introduced herself and Elliot, and then asked, "What happened?"

"I found this little girl sitting on my doorstep," Nadira explained. "She was crying, and when I came out to see what the noise was, she begged me not to let the bad man hurt her anymore."

"Where is she?" Olivia asked.

Nadira gestured for them to follow her inside. "She's sitting on my couch."

A little girl with long dark hair and large brown eyes was drinking apple juice. "Sweetheart?" Nadira said gently. "These two are police officers. They're here to talk to you."

She began to cry, and Elliot's heart went out to her. That was one of the worst parts of his job: seeing so many innocent children cry. "I didn't do anything wrong, did I?" she sobbed.

"No, of course you didn't," Elliot said soothingly. "We're here to help you, okay?"

She peered at him through her curtain of hair. "Okay," she whispered.

"My name is Elliot. What's yours?"

"Inocenta."

"She wouldn't tell me her name," Nadira said.

Olivia pulled her into the other room, so Elliot and Inocenta could talk.

"Where do you live?" he asked.

"With my mommy. She's not home from work yet."

"How old are you?"

"Eight."

"Do you stay home alone often?"

Inocenta shook her head. "Never. I have a babysitter. Can I go home now?"

"No. We're going to the police station instead. Won't that be exciting?"

"Are you going to stay with me?"

Elliot smiled. "If you want me to."

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_Elliot continued down the tunnel, the light never seeming to get closer. Then, suddenly, he tripped over something on the ground. He looked down and saw a dead man's body. "Gunshot wound to the head," Elliot heard himself say._

"_Correct." The dead man sat up. "You win the solid gold kewpie doll. But you still need to ID the body." He held a drivers' license in his cold, pasty white hand._

_Elliot read it then took large step backwards. "This is my license."_

_He looked down and saw himself. "Look what you're doing to yourself," The dead man whispered._

A tall Hispanic woman burst into the Special Victims Unit. "Where's my daughter?" she screamed. "There are police officers outside of my apartment, and they said I'd find her here."

Her screams pulled Elliot out of his dream. "Is your daughter Inocenta Vasquez?" he asked.

The woman nodded. "Yes. Where the hell is she, and what is the Special Victims Unit?"

"We deal in sexually based offenses," he said cautiously.

"WHAT!" the woman screamed. "My daughter was _raped_?"

"Why don't we step into another room?"

He poured the woman a cup of coffee. "We believe your daughter may have been abused."

She turned pale. "What? I don't understand; she was at her babysitter's apartment."

"Do you know anyone that lives in the Jensen Projects?"

"Where? No, I don't."

"Well, that's where we found her." He took out a notepad. "What's the name of her babysitter?"

"Rita Scion." She shook her head. "I can't believe this is happening," she muttered.

**Apartment of Rita Scion**

**The Bronx, New York**

**October 2**

Elliot rapped on the door. "This is the police. Open up."

A pale woman his hair so blonde it was nearly white opened the door. "I am she," she said in an ethereal voice. "May I help you?"

"May we come in?" asked Olivia.

"Be my guest." She turned her back on the detectives and lithely walked into her living room.

Elliot and Olivia looked at each other and then followed Rita inside. "Sit down," she beckoned. "The heavens told me that you were coming," she said.

"Eh?" Elliot said unintelligently.

Rita smiled serenely. "That's right. My goddess told me. It's about that little girl, isn't it?"

"How would you know that?" Olivia asked suspiciously.

"Ah, a nonbeliever. You will learn in time. I could feel part of her soul die. Detective Stabler can feel souls die, too."

Elliot blinked several times. _How does she know my name? Did I introduce myself and forget that I did? I'm not THAT crazy, am I? _"Have we met?" _Please don't say we hooked up in a bar, please don't say it. _

"We met on a distant plane," she said dreamily. "But you're a lot better looking in person."

Olivia handed Rita her card, trying hard not to laugh. "If you have any information about Inocenta Vasquez, call this number."

"I shall, I shall."

The detectives managed to keep from laughing until they reached their car. "That was interesting," Olivia said.

"Interesting, my ass! That woman's on crack."

Olivia started the car. Then, suddenly, something smashed through the back window. It was a brick with a piece of paper wrapped around it. _Not again, _Elliot thought, a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach.

"'_Why are you still here, Detective?'" _Olivia read. _"'I would have thought you'd gone over the edge by now. I guess it's up to me to push you.'"_

Elliot ripped the paper to shreds. "Let's just go," he muttered.

Back in Rita's apartment, a man came out of her closet. "Thank God that's over," she said to him. "They must have thought I was high or something."

"Don't worry; it will all be over soon," the man said. He wrapped his arm around her. _It will all be over soon. You couldn't resist helping another victim, could you, Stabler?_

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_**A/N: **Ooh, the suspense! I hope the dream sequence made some sense._


	4. Questions Without Answers

_**A/N: **Although I hate it when people take forever to update stories I like, I find myself doing that very thing. Oh well; I don't think it would go over very well if I told my English teacher that I couldn't do my transcendentalist project because I had to write fanfiction…_

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"_I'm not supposed to be scared of anything_

_But I don't know where I am_

_I wish that I could move but I'm exhausted _

_And nobody understands how I feel_

_I'm trying hard to breathe now but there's no air in my lungs_

_There's no one to talk to, and the pain is making me numb_

_Try to hold this under control_

_You can't help me 'cause nobody knows" –"Changes" 3 Doors Down_

**Manhattan Special Victims Unit**

**October 2nd**

Olivia handed Anita Vasquez a thermos of coffee. She hoped that it would be better quality than the coffee Elliot gave her the day before. Anita straightened the collar of her business shirt, leaned back in her chair, and sighed, her eyes filled with tears. "Dios mio," she murmured. "What kind of sick bastard would do something like this to my little girl?"

"We're trying to find that out," Olivia said kindly. "My partner is talking with Inocenta right now."

Anita nodded. "Detective Stabler reminds her of her daddy."

"Does Inocenta have a father?"

Anita shook her head. "No. He died a couple of years ago in a car accident." She frowned indignantly. "And even if he was alive, there is no way in hell that he would do something like this. Inocenta meant the world to him."

"We ask everyone that same question," Olivia assured her. The woman sipped her coffee, tears streaming down her face.

Inocenta finished coloring her picture and looked up at Elliot. They were sitting in the 'family room', the room where the SVU detectives interview children.

Elliot tilted his head to one side to get a better view of the drawing. "You're a very good artist," he said. "Can you tell me about your picture?"

She pointed at two crudely drawn yet colorful people, one tall and one short. "That's me and my mom," she explained. Elliot noticed that the woman was crying, but at the same time smiling through her tears. She was resting her hand on the girl's shoulder protectively. The little girl was frowning. He noticed that her hands weren't shown. He gestured at the top of the drawing. "Who's the man in the cloud?" he asked.

"That's my daddy," Inocenta said. "Mommy said he's up in heaven playing Go Fish with the angels." She smiled proudly. "He taught me how to play."

The man was smiling down at his daughter, but his face was covered in tears too. "Why is everyone in your picture crying?" Elliot asked.

"My daddy is sad because he can't be with me, and my mommy is always sad." She pulled her knees up to her chest, and her chin began to quiver.

_I hate doing this, _Elliot thought. He took a deep breath. "Inocenta? Can you tell me about the bad man?"

The little girl began to rock back and forth. "I don't want to. No quiero."

"Sweetie? You have to. I won't let him hurt you anymore, I promise."

"He's a monster. He has long fingers, and-and-and, he has sharp teeth." She buried her face in her lap. "Make him go away, make him go away," she repeated over and over again.

"What did he do to you?" Elliot asked.

Inocenta burst into tears and began screaming in Spanish. She flung her self at Elliot. "No quiero! No quiero!"

The detective stroked her hair, although physical contact with victims is generally frowned upon by the department. "Shh, shh," he whispered. "It's okay, it's okay, you're safe now."

"He said, he said, I'm never going to be safe again. He said he's always watching me."

"Who is he?" he inquired, still not letting go of the hysteric little girl.

"He's Rita's friend. His name is Mike." Her body went limp. "He made me say his name."

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_As Elliot made his way down the tunnel, he suddenly heard screaming. "Stop hurting me!" a girl was shouting._

_Elliot raced towards the sound of her voice. "I'm coming!" he called._

_He reached the screaming girl. Her long black hair hung lank and lifeless over her face. "Are you alright?" he asked. He looked around and saw no one else in the vicinity. "I thought I heard you screaming."_

_She raised her head. Her eyes met his. He shuddered at how dead and cold they were. She reached a pale hand and grasped his wrist in an iron grip. H struggled to break free, but the girl wouldn't let go. "Who are you?" he exclaimed._

"_I am the victims that you couldn't save, who's lives were made worse by your botched attempt at a rescue." Her eyes bore into his, her gaze almost as painful as her grip on his arm. Elliot clawed at her hand futilely. "Let me go!" he demanded._

_She laughed cruelly. "Let me go, damn it!"_

"_I can't," she sneered. "For I am inside you. I am the guilt that plagues you constantly, the guilt that keeps you up at night. No one understands, do they?"_

Elliot sat bolt upright in bed, drenched in cold sweat. He looked over at his alarm clock. It read 3:13 AM. He rubbed his hand across his forehead. He looked at his arm, where a series of nail indentations were in a row. He lay back down, staring at the ceiling. Suddenly, his cell phone rang. It was Olivia.

"Elliot, you need to get to Bellevue hospital right now," she shouted into the phone. "Something bad just happened."

"Shit," he muttered. "I'll be right there." Out of the corner of his eye, he thought he saw the girl from his dream lurking in the shadows. He blinked, and it was gone, leaving him only with a strong feeling of dread."

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_**A/N: **Hmm, maybe someone died? Or maybe someone got hit by a car? Or maybe… well, I'll just let you all find out next time I update. holds up hands Don't hurt me; it's not my fault I'm the only person that likes cliffhangers. _


	5. Past, Present, and a Bleak Future

_**A/N: **Okay, I know it's been a REALLY long time. I've been busy… so sue me! I received a request to have a flash forward chapter, and I agree that it's time to see how the "hunt for Stabler" is going._

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"_I need to find a reason  
To live this way  
I'm running out of patience  
And my life is over  
I'm standing here  
But I'm on my way   
Searching to find an answer  
I'm standing here  
But it's all the same  
And I'm running out of patience" -"My Reason" Linkin Park_

**Unknown Location, Long Island**

**October 30**

_One night. That's all we spent: one night._

I wished that I could apologize to her. As the water slowly rose around my ankles, regret slowly filled what was left of my heart. _We'd promised to try not to hurt each other anymore. Yeah, that happened. Why are all of my promises worth jack shit? _

"I'm going to die in here," I said into the darkness. My voice sounded hollow, even to me. "I'm going to die down here, and for some reason I deserve it."

Revenge can be both a terrible and a wonderful thing. In this case, one man's revenge is turning out to be my worst nightmare. _Where are you, Liv? I don't deserve your help, but if you ARE looking for me…_

Suddenly, I heard a loud crashing sound. A panel of the door cracked and water began gushing in. "I guess I'm going to die sooner than I thought," I muttered. A piece of the door crashed into my leg. My utter panic took over, and I started to laugh fatalistically. Then, my laughter gave way to screaming. "Somebody help me! Don't let me die down here! God damn it, help me!"

Of course, no one heard me.

**Olivia POV**

Rita Scion screamed as she sank to the ground, blood pouring from the gunshot wound in her leg. She clawed at it, until her hands were stained red. Olivia went down on one knee beside her. "Now," she said calmly. "Are you going to tell me where Elliot is or not?"

"I need to get to the fucking emergency room!" Rita squealed.

Olivia shrugged. "Have it your way, then." She turned her back and started to walk away.

The blonde woman stared at her, mouth agape. "You're not going to help me? If you don't, I'll sue the department."

Olivia snorted derisively. "Not if you bleed to death first, which you will, unless you tell me where Elliot is, and who kidnapped him."

Rita continued to claw at her leg, slowly rocking back and forth. Tears poured down her face. "Fine, I'll tell you. He's on Long Island, underneath this warehouse." She gave her the address.

"So, what's his name?" Olivia asked impatiently.

"He goes by several aliases," Rita began, but the growing-more-enraged-by-the-minute detective cut her off.

"What the hell is his _real _name?"

Rita took a deep breath. "It's someone you know, someone who has a huge grudge against Detective Stabler."

"Who?"

Rita told her. Olivia's jaw dropped. "Are you, are you-"

"Serious? As serious as this damn leg wound is."

Olivia took off running towards her car. "Hey, wait!" the blonde woman shouted. "What about me?"

"Hurry your sorry ass up, and I'll give you a ride." Olivia knew that what she was doing was wrong, and yet… she didn't feel any sympathy at all for Rita Scion.

**SVU Squad room**

Fin and Munch sat across from each other at their respective desks, both wrapped up in their own thoughts. Then, Fin's cell phone rang. "Tutuola," he answered.

"It's Liv."

"Turn the speaker on," Munch mouthed.

"Have you found him?"

"I know where he is," she told them. They heard her chock back a sob.

"Liv? What's wrong?" Fin demanded.

"He's on Long Island, but the tides coming in." She paused. "If we don't find him soon, he's not going to make it." Se gave them the address and hung up.

Fin massaged his temples with a shaking hand. "We should have told Cragen."

"We did. He knows that Elliot's missing."

"No, I mean before. When all of this shit started. Maybe he'd have had a chance."

They stared at each other hollowly for a moment. "What did the past note say, the one left in Olivia's car?"

"'You destroy my life, I'll destroy yours. I sure hope you have a good life insurance policy,'" Fin recited from memory.

"All that for revenge." Munch shook his head. "I hope we get there in time."

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_**A/N: **No, I'm not going to reveal Elliot's stalker yet. This time I PROMISE my next update won't take as long. _


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